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General 1.3DCT vs 1.0 Firefly

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General 1.3DCT vs 1.0 Firefly

Ralf S.

Ralf S.

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Has anybody driven both of these?

I'm homing in on my next car, since Junior S. (aka Queen of the Sith) is getting bigger and is now able to kick the back of the front seats... so I need something bigger than the Stilo, which I know the 500X isn't really... but apart from "Daddy actually needs a 500L, really..." that's where I am at the moment. :D

My gut says 1.0ltr, since the beast has three cylinders which is groovy.. it sounds like it's a tank... :D and more importantly it has a manual gearbox.

But the 1.3 has a fair bit more bhp, albeit with the auto' DCT box.

I know the simple answer is to go to the dealer and try them out.. but I'm reluctant to, in case the Younger Mrs S. notices that the 500X boot space is almost smaller than the Stilo and makes me buy a Volvo V90 instead.

Meanwhile, what's the general opinion? Is the Firefly suitable for motorway cruising? In the Stilo, most of my miles is on the motorway between 60-70mph.

And what's the DCT like? I imagine I'd start off using it as a manual and then quickly get used to it beating me to the next gearchange and then just drive it like an Auto'.

I presume the 1.0ltr is going to eventually run out of puff, up hill with 3 people and all Her Majesty's accessories in the back/on the roof etc... but how grunty is it? I can't imagine the 1.3 is miles better, especially if the gearbox counters some of the extra grunt by deciding to do something less than optimal.


Ralf S.
 
Check your back seat requirements carefully. When we started transporting grandchildren in kiddyseats, rear space was found wanting, so reluctantly the 500X had to be replaced. The Hyundai i30 Fastback I have now has a vital extra 2" between the front and rear seat backs.
 
Aye! I like the X but the rear seat room might be the same (or less) than in my Stilo.. so ultimately I'd have to take the child seat to the dealer and try it out. Boot space is less of an issue since I have a box.. :D


But apart from can Her Majesty fit in the back? is whether the 1.0ltr/1.3ltr DCT engines will give the beast enough poke.

It seems that it'll be "not bad" most of the time but run out of puff a bit up hill and fully laden etc. but I'm curious whether the 1.3 auto' is a better prospect than the 1.0ltr manual, or whether the manual box makes the 1.0ltr the one to have (since it won't depend on the car's brains to sort out the gear ratios).


Ralf S.
 
Ralf S. said:
Aye! I like the X but the rear seat room might be the same (or less) than in my Stilo.. so ultimately I'd have to take the child seat to the dealer and try it out. Boot space is less of an issue since I have a box.. :D





But apart from can Her Majesty fit in the back? is whether the 1.0ltr/1.3ltr DCT engines will give the beast enough poke.



It seems that it'll be "not bad" most of the time but run out of puff a bit up hill and fully laden etc. but I'm curious whether the 1.3 auto' is a better prospect than the 1.0ltr manual, or whether the manual box makes the 1.0ltr the one to have (since it won't depend on the car's brains to sort out the gear ratios).





Ralf S.
Click to expand...



Not that I'm any kind of ecpert, but with a DCT box you can override the ECU and shift manually can't you? You certainly can on my 2.0MJ, it even has Paddle Shifters on the steering wheel to make it easier
 
No one who has driven both has chipped in yet, but I understand that DCT gearboxes are as effecient as manuals, if not more so. Cars with the same engine fitted to manuals and autos often have slightly better performance figures with a DCT auto compared to the manual. I would therefore expect the bigger engined 500X auto to have a noticeably stronger performance than the manual.
Some manufacturers, notably VAG, have had a fair number of reported problems with their DCTs - they contain friction plates, unlike torque convertor boxes, so can be prone to wear. No problems with 500X autos reported on Honest John. The new models have been reviewed on HJ, and they rate the 1.0. Apparently the 1.3 is let down by its "dim witted" gearbox.
Good luck with your decision.
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road-tests/fiat/fiat-500x-cross-10-road-test/
 
TrevC said:
No one who has driven both has chipped in yet, but I understand that DCT gearboxes are as effecient as manuals, if not more so. Cars with the same engine fitted to manuals and autos often have slightly better performance figures with a DCT auto compared to the manual. I would therefore expect the bigger engined 500X auto to have a noticeably stronger performance than the manual.
Some manufacturers, notably VAG, have had a fair number of reported problems with their DCTs - they contain friction plates, unlike torque convertor boxes, so can be prone to wear. No problems with 500X autos reported on Honest John. The new models have been reviewed on HJ, and they rate the 1.0. Apparently the 1.3 is let down by its "dim witted" gearbox.
Good luck with your decision.
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road-tests/fiat/fiat-500x-cross-10-road-test/
Click to expand...



I get great performance and economy from mine, at least equal to the manual. I believe it has 'liquid clutches', or something, so wear is not an issue
 
Yes, many DCTs use wet clutches, which are supposed to last better. To be fair, I think the problems with the VAG boxes were not necessarily clutch wear related, although the variants with wet clutches seem to give less problems.
The Hyundai I run now is a manual, but if I'd been offered their DCT version instead for similar money I probably would have gone for it.
 
Ralf S. said:
Has anybody driven both of these?



I'm homing in on my next car, since Junior S. (aka Queen of the Sith) is getting bigger and is now able to kick the back of the front seats... so I need something bigger than the Stilo, which I know the 500X isn't really... but apart from "Daddy actually needs a 500L, really..." that's where I am at the moment. :D



My gut says 1.0ltr, since the beast has three cylinders which is groovy.. it sounds like it's a tank... :D and more importantly it has a manual gearbox.



But the 1.3 has a fair bit more bhp, albeit with the auto' DCT box.



I know the simple answer is to go to the dealer and try them out.. but I'm reluctant to, in case the Younger Mrs S. notices that the 500X boot space is almost smaller than the Stilo and makes me buy a Volvo V90 instead.



Meanwhile, what's the general opinion? Is the Firefly suitable for motorway cruising? In the Stilo, most of my miles is on the motorway between 60-70mph.



And what's the DCT like? I imagine I'd start off using it as a manual and then quickly get used to it beating me to the next gearchange and then just drive it like an Auto'.



I presume the 1.0ltr is going to eventually run out of puff, up hill with 3 people and all Her Majesty's accessories in the back/on the roof etc... but how grunty is it? I can't imagine the 1.3 is miles better, especially if the gearbox counters some of the extra grunt by deciding to do something less than optimal.





Ralf S.
Click to expand...



Hi Ralf,
The 1.0 is a good engine however on the highway. The power is not a lot. I have driven them both and I was not really impressed by the difference in horsepower from the 1.3. Fuel economy is way better on the 1.0 so I think it would be better to save some money and buy the 1.0 and get some extra options on it.
I drive the previous model 500X with the 1.4 and I upgraded the power to 200HP. Maybe this is the reason that i was not that impressed by the 1.3.
 
Yes, it's a matter of perspective isn't it. My 500x was a standard 1.4 Multiair, which went very nicely for me. The closest in terms of engine and size to the 1.0 that I have driven is an Astra 1.0 3-pot turbo, and that seemed to go pretty well, and return decent economy. I got about 50mpg over the three days I had it with mostly motorway driving.
 
I had a test drive in 1.3 dct, it seemed a bit more refined being a 4 cylinder, however not a fair comparison as its an auto. we test drove a city cross 1.0 and the mrs loved it, but dealer was being an arse, (basically found a pre reg one at another branch with 10-20 miles on. turned out it had 10000 but wanted same price!) went to another dealer, picked up a cross plus in red pre reg, but had 2 miles on the clock! this one to us doesn't seem as quick off the mark, but it picks itself up, and once rolling, you would be surprised at how quick power delivery is, for example, we were on the motorway going up an incline, came out of 50, pressed resume on the cruise control, and it was there no problem with 3 adults. my 2 gripes are fuel consumption, and the hard headrests which are a bit too forward for my liking.
 
We just invested in a 1.3 DCT and all I can say is WOW! 150bhp from a 1.3litre engine, that used to need a 2.0 litre engine not so long ago. I haven't driven the 1.0 but my previous cars in the last decade have all had at least 170bhp and this car is not a far way behind!
 
We have the 1.3 firefly and it goes like a 2 litre car! 150bhp from a 1.3 engine! it will probably go bang in a year or two but thats what PCP's are for!
 
If you can afford it go for the 1.3 car, 150bhp and every driver aid you can imagine! There's only two things the car doesn't do, it won't wipe your bum and it can't park itself!
 
I went for the 1.0 ltr because of the manual box. The front is more roomy than he Stilo, so the Younger Mrs S. is happy.. and the rear space is also marginally bigger (certainly wider and taller) so the Sith will fit okay, for a while anyway.

120bhp seems more than okay so far.. I'm still running it in a bit... though I admit if the 1.3 engine had a manual option that would probably have been my choice... just because. :p I tried a 1.3 and it was phenomenal... but the DCT as a very long term proposition is too "unknown quantity" for me and I like the manual sticky with the metal ball lever. The whole car is very nice.



Ralf S.
 
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